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Antiviral medicines

Antiviral drugs are a class of medication used specifically for treating viral infections. Like antibiotics for bacteria, specific antivirals are used for specific viruses.

What is an Anti-Viral Drug?

Antiviral drugs are one class of antimicrobials, a larger group which also includes antibiotic (also termed antibacterial), antifungal and antiparasitic drugs. They are relatively harmless to the host, and therefore can be used to treat infections. They should be distinguished from viricides, which are not medication but deactivate or destroy virus particles, either inside or outside the body.

Antivirals also can be found in essential oils of some herbs, such as eucalyptus oil and its constituents.

Designing safe and effective antiviral drugs is difficult, because viruses use the host's cells to replicate. This makes it difficult to find targets for the drug that would interfere with the virus without also harming the host organism's cells. Moreover, the major difficulty in developing vaccines and anti-viral drugs is due to viral variation.

The emergence of antivirals is the product of a greatly expanded knowledge of the genetic and molecular function of organisms, allowing biomedical researchers to understand the structure and function of viruses, major advances in the techniques for finding new drugs, and the intense pressure placed on the medical profession to deal with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), the cause of the deadly acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) pandemic.

Are there any side-effects from antiviral medicines?

Most people who take antiviral medication get no side-effects, or only minor ones. Nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, and abdominal pain, as well as skin rashes (including photosensitivity and itching) are the most common side-effects.

Read the leaflet inside the medication packet for a full list of possible side-effects.